Medical devices are an important part of the health industry and are responsible for improving the health of many people. Many life-saving procedures can be performed today because of advances in medical device technology. Stents, for instance, are examples of medical devices that are used in a variety of medical procedures. When stents are used in the context of the vascular system, they can open blocked vessels, increase the flow of blood and prevent reoccurrence of the blockage. Stents are not limited, however, to the vasculature system and can be employed in many systems and circumstances.
The production of medical devices such as stents can be a complicated process. Producing the stent includes forming struts that are arranged to provide strength and flexibility to the stent. The struts can be formed, for example, by laser cutting.
Once the stent is formed, the stent is polished in order to remove rough edges that may remain on the stent and to smooth the surface of the stent. As one can imagine, a stent with rough edges may have adverse effects if introduced into a patient's vasculature. The stent could cut a vessel's wall, for instance, or irritate the vessel's wall, stimulating cell growth and forming a blockage in the vessel.
Electropolishing is the process commonly used to polish stents. The process requires that the device be suspended within an electrolytic bath while electrical current is applied through the stent in order to drive material away from the stent surface. Forming a secure contact is important to the process since insufficient current flow results in improperly or poorly polished devices. Alternatively, the lack of a secure contact can result in electrical arcing that burns the stent's surface.
Conventionally, the electrical contact has been accomplished using paddles. The use of paddles has not always been effective. The results produced with traditional paddles are not optimal, either because the paddles cover too much surface area or because the paddle contacts cannot be alternated to allow for stent contact areas to vary. There is a need for a new configuration that allows contact with the stent surface to be achieved and effectively controlled in order to achieve a more uniform finish.